Baker X: Finally a review! Thank the gods, I still have something to believe in. Anyways, sorry this last one took so long...had a problem with how I wanted this to go. It's not a bad chapter, but meh...probably could be better. Anyways, enjoy some Clive, Smoke, and Blackfire action. Hey, anyone out there, drop me an E-mail (kingschmoyahoo.com) and let me know what you think, or if you just wanna say hey or whatnot! See ya guys.

The Legal Information: All characters present in the Teen Titans outside of Smoke, Clive, Sherri, and all others that are not seen in the show or comic book belong to me. All other characters, such as Starfire, Raven, and Slade, belong to their respective copyright holders. In other words, I do not own the Teen Titans, so anything that I say or have them do in this fanfiction does not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the creators of the Show/Comic or any of it's affiliates.

I'm working really hard at trying to sound smart, aren't I.

Dark Patriot

Where There's Fire...

Over a week has passed since Blackfire joined up with the Titans. They had agreed to make her a titan under the conditions that she must obey any orders given to her by the Titans, as well as the city. In otherwords, a similar predicament to Clive's. The sun was sitting high in the sky when Clive woke up. No one bothered to get him up for breakfast or lunch this time around, and his alarm clock failed him again. He got up and stumbled around from his room to the shower, and back again to change. The elevator doors opened up on the ground floor to reveal the still sleepy new Titan as he wandered to the kitchen area for some kind of mid afternoon breakfast. Beastboy and Cyborg were sitting on the couch playing Gamestation as he wandered by.

Cyborg: " Yo man! Finally awake?"

Clive: " Meh...yeah..."

Beastboy: " Yeah dude, we tried to wake you, but it was impossible."

The dark hero wandered into the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee, then wandered his way back to the couch and sat down watching Cyborg and Beastboy play.

Clive: " So...what's up today?"

Cyborg: " Not much really. Me and BB here are just playin' some Gamestation. Raven and Star are upstairs meditating, and Terra and Robin are doing some working out."

Clive: " So where's Blackfire?"

Blackfire: " Oh...I'm here and there...but I'm glad you're so concerned about me!"

Clive: " Uhhh...that's not quite what I meant..."

Blackfire came swooping up behind Clive, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. After she let go of him, he took another sip of his coffee as she sat down.

Blackfire: " So what's up everyone?"

Cyborg: " Oh...not much. Just a little..."

Cyborg's sentence got cut off short as a fireball blasted through the window from behind the giant TV. The explosion shattered the glass and knocked the TV forwards into the Titans. Thankfully, Cyborg was both fast and strong enough to handle the falling monolith. Clive and the others hopped backwards over the couch and readied themselves, as Cyborg set the TV down. They awaited the smoke to clear so they could try and see what was going on, but instead of clearing like it ought to have, it just got thicker and thicker. The titans further backed against the wall, readying themselves. Cyborg prepared his sonic cannon and scanned the area for anyone's presence.

Beastboy: " Dude! What's going on?"

Cyborg: " I'm trying to find that out now BB...but I can't see anything. But there's a big source of heat somewhere in that smoke..."

Clive: " Smoke...Smoke?! Damn it! Get back guys!"

Clive bolted out infront of the other titans, pulling back his fist as his face and any other exposed parts of his body were covered by his black suit. He dove right into the front half of the smoke, smashing his fist into the ground, causing a sudden explosion with his kinetic powers and forcing the smoke away....well...most of it. Standing alone just feet from Clive was a man dressed in a grey jacket with a pair of black pants and shirt. The traditional red scarf clung tightly around his face to conceal his identity while a black fedora covered the top of his head. He wore sunglasses as well, further adding to his mystery. Though the look had slightly changed, it was still the same old villian.

Clive: " Smoke..."

Smoke: " Ah, Clive, good to see you're doing well. And here I had heard they sent you up the river..."

Clive got up off his knee, pulling his fist out of the floor and shook it of any debris.

Clive: " Well, I'd say the same, but you know what? I just think you suck, so instead, I'll just say I wish you'd drop dead."

Smoke: " Ever the quick wit and tongue. But is that all you've got going for you Clive?"

Clive: " Let's find out..."

The pair took a single step towards each other, bringing themselves in close quarters with each other. Clive and Smoke began to swing punches at each other. They would dodge, duck, parry away, catch, and otherwise counter the others swings, showing that they were quite well matched for this style of combat. Infact, they both fought quite similarly. Finally, Smoke backed off after a few moments, giving the duo a moment to catch a breath.

Clive: " Well, that was a waste of time."

Smoke: " I guess. Then again, I wasn't using my powers..."

Clive: " Think I was?"

Smoke: " I know you were..."

Clive: " Goes to show what you know..."

Cyborg: " Clive! Stop messing around and let's get this guy beat down!"

Beastboy: " Yeah!"

Smoke: " No comments from the peanut gallery!"

Smoke tossed a fireball in the other Titans direction. Before it hit them however, it became enveloped in darkness, and next thing they all knew, it disappeared. Raven and Starfire appeared afterwards from an adjoining hallway.

Starfire: " Friends! We have arrived after hearing all the commotion!"

Smoke: " I see. So now it's 6 on 1? That's not too fair...guess that means I'll have to go hard on you guys then."

Raven: " Give up. You can't beat all of us."

Smoke: " You're the resident psychic aren't you? Why don't you go into my head to find out if I could or not. And who knows, maybe you'll like it."

Raven: " I pass."

Smoke: " Then I guess I'll just have to show you!"

Smoke spun around quickly, throwing both of his palms out causing a large gout of flames to shoot fourth. He would wave them back and fourth to keep the titans at bay while he caught everything else on fire. Cyborg returned fire with his sonic cannon, knocking Smoke out of the tower. Raven put the fires out quickly so that the team could go and see what happened to smoke. They all poked their heads out the tower and saw nothing on the ground. There was no marks of anyone hitting the ground nor was there any splash from the ocean. It was as if he had simply disappeared. The Titans were left scratching their heads. Cyborg dialed up Robin on the communicator to see where he was.

Cyborg: " Hey Robin! That Smoke guy's back!"

Robin: " What? Where?"

Cyborg: " Not too sure. I just knocked him out of the tower and he disappeared before we could see what happened to him! Didn't you hear all the blasts?"

Robin: " Not really. We've been doing some training sessions and such...we'll be there quickly. Keep a look out. Have Raven take a scan of the area for him."

Cyborg: " We will. Take care though, Smoke's pretty tricky..."

Robin: " Right. Robin out."

The mechanical Titan turned to Raven after his quick conversation.

Cyborg: " Can you search for him Raven?"

Raven: " I'll give it a try, hold on..."

Raven closed her eyes and began to concentrate. All sorts of images flooded into her mind as she checked the tower area over. However, they were cut short, and a slight shock of some sorts ran through her head, causing her to fall with a yelp. Blackfire helped Raven up to her feet.

Blackfire: " Whoa there. You alright?"

Raven: " I'm fine..."

Starfire: " What happened?"

Raven: " I'm not sure. It was like I was attacked when I was searching for Smoke. I'll try again."

Cyborg: " No don't. It might be worse next time."

Cyborg sighed, then looked back to the other Titans for some kind of answers. For the most part, they were slightly befuddled by Smoke's sudden appearance. Clive stepped around the window, looking through the large hole created by the fireball. He turned back around to see Starfire standing behind him closely, with a questioning expression on her face.

Clive: " Oh, Star...what's up?"

Starfire: " I was thinking...since Raven could not find Smoke....perhaps you could? Or maybe Black could?"

Clive: " Oh...well yeah...I could give it a try."

Clive knelt down onto the ground, pressing his hand onto his shadow and concentrating. His hand sank down into the ground, as if he were infact reaching into his own shadow. It was fairly apparent that he wasn't as adapt at this power like Black was, since it took him much longer to use. He opened his eyes, revealing them to be black as night, then looked around as if he were searching for something. After a brief moment, he got up and shook his head, clearing his eyes. The others gathered around him, hoping to hear the results.

Clive: " Smoke's traveling around the city. He's already on the other side of town. I also took a quite check on Sherri to make sure she was still at school and ok."

Blackfire: " What? How can he be that far that fast by himself?"

Clive: " I'm not disputing the fact that it's almost impossible, but I know what I saw. With my powers, I can find someone by their shadow. As long as it's being cast, I'll be able to find them. In this case, he was on the other side of town."

Beastboy: " Jeez...this is gonna be a long day."

Starfire: " Do not be sad friends! Let us take to heart the fact that we are all safe and sound!"

Blackfire: " Yeah yeah....let's just go get this guy."

Cyborg: " Hold on, I think we ought to wait for Robin."

Robin: " Don't bother waiting! I'm already here!"

Robin burst through the door with a halfways exhausted Terra. The pair had sprint from their training grounds all the way out and up to the tower room they were in.

Robin: " You say he's on the other side of town? Well, he can't be too hard to find. We'll have to split up...but going it alone will make it too easy for him to stop us. So we need to group up."

He looked around for a moment, then moved everyone into two groups. He, Clive, Terra, and Cyborg were on one side, while Raven, Starfire, Blackfire, and Beastboy sat on another.

Robin: " Ok...we're gonna pair up someone who can fly with someone who can't fly. Raven and Cyborg, you take the north side. Terra, Beastboy, you two take the south."

The pairs headed out immediately, however Robin was delayed on drawing the last two pairs. He looked to Star and wanted to pair up with her. It was a want though, fueled by a crush he knew he had been developing for her. On the other hand, there was Blackfire. She was probably going to be more helpful than Starfire since she was a better fighter, and he wanted to keep an eye on her because she still hadn't fully garnered his trust...but over the last few weeks, he had seen the way Clive was with Starfire, and he was jealous. Clive perked his brow, watching Robin struggle on how to team the last two up.

Clive: " Hey, Robin...pairs dude?"

Robin: " I'm thinking."

Blackfire: " What's to think about? Me and Clive, you and my sister! It works out for all of us..."

Robin: " It's not that easy. I'm comparing how everyone will work out together.

Blackfire draped her arms around Clive again, this time from behind him, giving him a slight spook. Starfire gasped slightly at her sisters more sultry behavior, but kept it very well hidden. As for Clive, of course he wanted his pairing with Starfire. And Blackfire was quite obvious. Starfire still kept quiet as Robin made his final decisions.

Robin: " Blackfire, you're with Clive and the west side. Star, you and I will check the east side."

Blackfire lifted Clive up off his feet before he had a moment to really take it in, then flew him out of the tower. Starfire took Robin's hands and held him underneath her as they flew towards the eastside. She spoke to him as they headed their.

Starfire: " Why was it so hard to pair us Robin? Are you worried because I'm not quite the fighter my older sister is?"

Robin: " Well...something like that. I was worried that with Smoke, he'd be able to over take you, and I wanted someone there who could help you out. Clive might have been a better choice, but I really want a rematch with him!"

Starfire: " Oh, I understand now."

It was hard to even tell the girl the half truth. The boy wonder decided he'd dwell on that thought later as they began to scour overhead. Blackfire and Clive continued their viewing of the city. They stopped briefly on the elementary school building to take a moment to plan.

Blackfire: " You should check for Smoke again."

Clive: " You're right. I'll do that."

Not sooner did Clive start to work his powers than a ball of fire rip out of the sky at the newer titans. Blackfire pulled Clive out of the way since he didn't have the time to react, and rolled with him to safety. Smoke stood up in the flames and smirked with his arms crossed. Clive's body became once again infused with his black suit, this time with long black claws at the end of his finger tips.

Clive: " Finally come out of hiding coward?"

Smoke: " Oh like you can talk. Anyways, where's your girlfriend Clive? I thought you'd be with her!"

Blackfire: " Hey, what are you talking about?"

Smoke smiled underneath his scarf, realizing he hit a nerve. Clive didn't bother giving Smoke another chance to make a remark. Instead, he just took off in an all out run towards the villain. Clive jumped up into the air and began to lean into a spin, making good use of the claws he made at the end of his fingers. This tactic however, didn't work against Smoke. As Clive came in for the kill, Smoke just threw an explosive ball of fire into Clive's chest, knocking it back up into the air. Before he could recover, Smoke was already in Clive's face with a couple of quick jabs. And as they began to land, Smoke grabbed Clive by the back of the head and threw him with a great deal of force off the building and into the street below, where he made a large indent in the pavement and skid to a halt. Smoke landed gracefully, then turned his attentions to Blackfire.

Smoke: " Oh...so wait now...I guess I don't really know you do I..."

Blackfire: " I'm Blackfire, what's it to ya?"

Smoke: " Really? You must be the red head's sister. You two look a lot alike."

Blackfire: " What's that matter? Stop playing with my head...cause you're just looking for trouble.

Smoke: " Playing with your heads? Hardly that I'd say. I'm just admiring how you seem to be all wrapped up with Clive, when he's all wrapped around Starfire's finger...

Blackfire: " What's that supposed to mean?"

Smoke: " Oh...well you seem to have a little thing for him. I know because I saw you at the party a few weeks ago. And I've seen how you are in the tower. Always hanging on him and trying to play kissy face. It's pretty sad if you ask me."

Blackfire: " Whatever!"

Blackfire fumed for a moment, letting Smoke's words get to her.

Smoke: " Don't act like you don't know. She's got that Robin kid too. It's pathetic, the whole lot of you really. You know, you should follow my advice. Take what you want. That's the only way you'll get him."

Blackfire: " SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Blackfire in an upset fury began to throw starbolt after starbolt, as well as a few beams from her eyes into the taunting criminal. They were however, they were poorly aimed and he was just too skillful with his dodges, rendering them ineffective. Instead though, the roof of this school was being blown up and was on the brink of collapsing. Smoke laughed loudly as a ball of fire encircled him and he disappeared, leaving Blackfire alone. She balled her fists as her eyes began to glow brightly from the frustration that Smoke left her with, but it was qwelled quickly when she realized that the roof she was on was about to give. She flew up and off of it, not sure of what to do. There were children inside that she had to rescue, but was hesitant because she didn't want to lose her life as well. As the roof began to cave in, the inside of the school filled with darkness. Blackfire flew down to check it out, seeing only a huge monster located inside the top floor, holding up the roof while teachers ushered their students to safety. The creature turned to Blackfire as it's power held the roof steady and barked out orders.

Black: " Girl! Check for life in the building. I cannot do this forever..."

She nodded slowly, not sure what to make of the monster. Blackfire swooped through the entire building at a very high speed, looking for any kinds of people or animals, finding only a couple of hampsters and a snake. She brought them out in their respective cages, setting them down and watched as the top floor finally came crashing. Thankfully, the building was well built, and only that floor had come down. Debris scattered all around the area, but in the end, no one was hurt. Blackfire looked around on the ground for that monster she saw inside the building, but it was nowhere to be found. Clive was also gone, which scared her a bit. Unsure of anything at the moment, she decided to make haste with an escape so she wouldn't be forced to answer any questions regarding how the school's ceiling caved in. After a few moments of careful consideration, she decided it was best if she headed back to the tower to wait for Clive and the others. Once there, she watched TV until the others came back, all empty handed and with only questions in their eyes.

Blackfire: " I see you guys didn't find anything out either?"

Robin: " Nope. Star and I searched again and again and again. I even went on the ground and through the sewers. Ended up bumping into Beastboy."

Beastboy: " Yeah, totally freaked me out too. But yeah, doesn't look like anyone found him."

Blackfire: " I wouldn't say that..."

Starfire: " What do you mean sister? Did you find Smoke?"

Blackfire: " More like he found us."

Starfire: " Where is Clive?"

Blackfire: " I'm not sure."

Starfire: " What do you mean you are not sure? How can you lose someone like Clive?"

Blackfire: " Look, I don't know, ok? We landed on a school to have him do that shadow thing where he looks for the guy and all. Well, right as he was getting into it, Smoke just attacked us out of nowhere and ended up throwing Clive off the building. I tried to blast him, but Smoke's just too fast to hit at any range like that. Ended up bringing down the roof. Then this big black monster shows up and keeps it from falling while I make sure everyone gets out, and then it disappeared. Happy now? That's how I lost him."

Raven: " So he needed Blacks help there...well, that still doesn't explain where Clive is."

Starfire: " Then we must go out and search for him! Has anyone checked his communicator?"

Cyborg: " It's offline Starfire, so I can't trace him at all."

Starfire: " Then perhaps you could look for him Raven?"

Cyborg: " I don't think she should be doing that with her powers Star. I know you wanna find Clive. All of us want to find him...but somethings out there messing with Raven when she does that."

Starfire: " ...."

The door to the Tower kicked open in the silence and sure enough, the missing Titan was walking in.

Clive: " Friggin scarf wearing creepy sonofa...."

Starfire: " CLIVE! You are alive!"

The team, headed by Starfire, quickly approached their late friend. Since she was the first person there, she grabbed him around his waist and embraced him very tightly, exerting her worry.

Clive: " Star....you're crushing my ribs again....urk!"

Starfire: " Oh, I'm sorry..."

She let him go and he straightened himself out. He wasn't wearing his suit anymore, but rather just his shorts and t-shirt. He was filthy dirty with dirt and oil stains on his clothes and arms. Upon a closer inspection, he had some cuts on his cheek and shoulders as well.

Starfire: " You are damaged! We must seek medical aid for you."

Clive: " No no, I'm alright Starfire. Just some cuts and bruises, no biggie."

Starfire: " But they could get infected! You must take care of them."

Clive sighed, seeing as there was no way to win this. She took him by his arm to a nearby room with a first aid kit, then began to patch him up while he got laughed at slightly by some of the other Titans. Clive emerged minutes later with his face and arm half wrapped in gauss. He wandered back over to the couch and sat down, feeling pretty dumb looking. He mumbled something from behind the bandages, but no one could understand him.

Robin: " Can you breath alright from under there?"

Again, just more incoherant mumbling.

Raven: " I'll take care of this Starfire..."

Raven got up and placed her hands on Clive's injured cheek and arm, using her powers to lace up the cuts and heal them over. Afterwards, he tore off the bandages, taking a tremendous breath of air.

Clive: " Oy!"

Starfire: " You are alright now?"

Clive: " Oh yeah. I'm virtually indestructable!"

Robin: " Well, now that we've got that taken care of, I suppose we should put our heads together about what Smoke's doing back."

Cyborg: " Well, if we do, we'll do it tomorrow. I've got to get to work on the repairs to the tower."

Robin: " Yeah, your right. Well Titans, lets get to work. We'll just worry about all this tomorrow."

So the Titans began making the repairs in the evening, which took them late into the night. Meanwhile, in an unknown location, Smoke gathered with a young man in a buisness suit. He had white hair with a thin frame.

Smoke: " I'm back."

Grey: " I see. So did you have fun?"

Smoke: " Not really. Any reason I should?"

Grey: " I thought you'd at least be glad to see him. You haven't really seen each other in quite a while."

Smoke: " Maybe, but Clive's different now. It's a good change, but he's different than before."

Grey: " I wouldn't dwell on it."

Smoke: " Any more news?"

Grey: " We're gathering soon. I've finally reached Aqua, so that's the last of them."

Smoke: " And the other?"

Grey: " She's still with us. Despite her current loyalties. Are you still with us?"

Smoke: " Does it look like I've got anything better to do?"

Grey: " I suppose not. Now if you'll excuse me, it's getting late and I'd like to catch the late show before I go to sleep. You're dismissed."

Smoke: " Contact me if you need anything."

Smoke turned around and disappeared. As for Grey, he simply faded into the darkness that surrounded him, leaving the strange and dark room empty.